I’m finding it hard to believe that the Government is seriously thinking of booze asbos (where people are banned from drinking alcohol for a period of time under pain of imprisonment), or else they’re tyring to think of yet another headline-grabbing initiative.

Now some Councils (Manchester included) has tried banning booze s part of an asbo and the thing is it doesn’t work.  Alcohol addition and alcohol abuse is not just an anti-social behaviour issue, it is also an addiction issue with medical and psychiatric implications as well.  Banning an alcoholic from drinking without offering help for the addiction will fail.  Similarly if the alcoholic hasn’t decided for themselves that they need to deal with their issue, it will fail.

Banning alcoholics from drinking will fill up our prisons but totally fail to stop the problem.  Surely a more sensible approach would be to increase the availability of drugs and alcohol support services.

This weekend, the Gorton Horticultural Society is holding their 60th show.  They will also be celebrating the Gorton 100.  All will be welcome on Saturday and Sunday at the Churches’ Centre, Wellington Street.  I am always impressed by the sheer quality (and sometimes scale) of the show entries.  There’s been promises of some amusingly shaped veg as well this year…

On September 12th, the Gorton Rushcart  will be back for one year only, celebrating Gorton 100.  Starting with a service at St. James, there will be Morris Dancing through the streets of Gorton.  Lots of fun for all of the family in the Country’s only Inner City Rushcart.

Followed by on Sunday 13th September the Gorton Festival in Gorton Park.  Another great day for the family all day in Gorton Park.

There seems to be a real enthusiasm now for “Independent” people to do politics instead of politicians.  But is independent always better?

In effect an Independent is somebody who hasn’t nailed their colours to a political mast.  There can be several reasons for this, e.g.:

1.      The person has no opinions at all on anything – this might not be good if elected to office, even if they’re famous for something else.

2.     The person has opinions but they don’t fit within a broad remit of any existing party or movement – this might produce an effective outcome if elected to office, depending on what those opinions are.

3.     The person does have opinions which fit with a political grouping but choose to conceal this from the electorate – this is dishonest.

Of those three outcomes, the second sort might well produce an effective Mayor, MP or Councillor, but the question remains as to what those opinions are.  I know many independent-minded people who hold views on some issues which I find objectionable or very strange.  This might not matter in some areas, but might matter very much if these are views which will influence what services should be offered to local residents, or even which local residents should be entitled to services.

The problem with Independents is that on every subject which is important, it’s necessary to try to establish what they believe before being able to judge where they are coming from.  A political label will generally guide people as to where somebody is coming from and how they are likely to vote on an issue of which they know relatively little themselves (for instance I’d be happy to go along with Vince Cable’s guidance on economic matters).

At the end of the day, it’s what somebody elected wants to do in office which counts.  A question which should be directed at “Independent” celebrities as much as everybody else.

The Financial Services Authority are responsible for regulating banking and lending services in the UK.  They do many things (how well is an open question given the banking failures) but one of them is to ensure that people do not lose their money when banks go down.

Amazingly, it seems to have decided to fund this in part by a levy on all of the organisations who are regulated by the FSA, who are now held to be jointly and severally liable for the debt.  Fair enough at first glance, but this includes Credit Unions, who were in no way responsible for the banking collapse in the first place and who operate on very tight margins, providing lifeline credit to the neediest in society who are jointly liable for a levy of £8.5 million.

So it seems that the price of the reckless gambling by banks is to be paid by the poorest in our society who have formed Credit Unions because those same banks won’t give them any help.  This is very wrong.  There is a Facebook campaign page just opened up to fight this.  Please join and write to your local MP.

The Bank Holiday weekend will see the Gorton Allotment Show at the Churches’ Centre, Wellington Street.  It runs Saturday and Sunday, all welcome.

The Rushcart will be returning for one year only on 12th September.  Those of us who remember the Rushcart will have happy (if often hazy) memories of a splendid day.  In the week running up to this, the Vale Cottage will be running a Beer Festival.  So plenty to enjoy.

There’s an advice session tomorrow 11 - 12 at Belle Vue House (Gorton North Neighbourhood Office).  All welcome.

Congratulations to everybody who got the grades which they wanted today and commiserations to those who didn’t quite make it.  I always get annoyed when people claim that increased pass rates mean that standards are falling.  When I did A levels, the pass rates (and the grade rates) were fixed to percentages of those taking the exam.  Whilst this made sense for subjects which thousands were taking, it turned A-levels into a lottery for people doing less popular subjects, as their grades didn’t depend on how good they were, but how good everybody else doing the same exam happened to be that year.

The new system makes more sense and is fairer.  So, if you’ve got your A-levels today, ignore those who are claiming that it’s easy to pass nowadays.

Another couple of pictures from the K1 visit.  One shows that it wasn’t only the K1 visiting, it was followed by a genuine Crossley car, the other shows the cake being cut.  The video clip shows that it wasn’t an easy job moving K1 around, as it was prepared for backing into the boiler shed.

A fantastic day as the K1 came steaming into Gorton.  First, to within 6 feet of where she was originally steamed up exactly 100 years ago today, a tour of the old boiler house, a visit to Gorton Market, where hundreds of local people enjoyed the sight followed by a moving wreath-laying at Brookfield, before departing to a peal of Brookfield’s bells.  Well done to all involved in the organisation of this terrific event.

And now (with luck) a link to the K1 arriving at Brookfield Church.

There’s a conversation which I’m sure that people of all political parties have had on the doorsteps  more than once, it runs along the lines of:

“I never vote.  Nobody’s ever told me what they all stand for”

“Have you read any of the leaflets?”

“No, they go straight in the bin.”

“Have you watched any of the broadcasts or the news?”

“Why would I do that?  Anyway, if they wanted me to vote, they’d tell me what they’re all about.”

It’s depressing becuase such individuals tend to blame the politicians for not informing them, whilst carefully ensuring that every way in which people do try to communicate is ignored or disposed of unread.  Which is food for thought today when Manchester will be commemorating the Peterloo Massacre.  Ordinary men and women gathered to hear speeches on why ordinary people should be allowed to vote and why a City like Manchester should have representation both at Council and Parliamentary level.  The authorities charged and many were killed or maimed.

People without a vote knew very well why it mattered.  It was more than a Century later before universal male suffrage came in and longer still before all women were given the vote.  It still does matter.

It’s another busy weekend in the area.  Today’s event at the Donkey Sanctuary was incredibly crowded.  There was an exhibition about trains at Gorton Library and until 16th, there’s a wonderful event at Brookfield Church all about the local history of Beyer Peacock, all leading up to Monday’s visit of the K1 Garratt (12:30 - 1:30, Tesco Car Park).

There’s a rather splendid picture of the interior of the Monastery in The Guardian today, in celebration of their being shortlisted for a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors award.  It’s a lovely shot, though rather annoying s it’s exactly the type of shot I’ve tried to take several times over the years, but never quite managed to pull off.  So, I’ll just take it out and pretend that I’ve taken it.

Seriously, it’s a nice picture, showing the work done and the work still to be done.

I’m fuming, just fuming.  So much so, that I’m going to have to be careful not to type my exact feelings in case I end up in front of the Standard Board!

The Abbey Hey Hotel has been a serious problem for a few years now, ever since it ceased to operate as a pub.  It has passed through the hands of many people, some of whom have submitted inappropriate planning proposals for the building, which have understandably gone nowhere.  Meanwhile, the building has deteriorated.  Sometimes, the Council has been able to force whoever seemed to be owning it at the time to make it a bit less dangerous, but in June the Council’s Dangerous Buildings Unit agreed that it had reached the point of no return and the building would have to come down.  A bit sad as it used to be a fine landmark building, but a huge relief to those around who could at last look forward to normality being restored.

Now it seems that a new owner (or at least a new name registered as the owner) means that the whole process has been put back to the start.  I’m looking into the legal implications, but it’s incredibly frustrating that action cannot be taken on a highly dangerous building just because the name of the owner has changed.  My personal view is that if somebody buys a building which is dangerous and under threat of demolition for that reason then he or she should accept the loss that goes with it.

Recent figures released by the Greater Manchester Police indicate that as many as 48000 might have their DNA on GMP’s database despite not having been convicted of any crime.  Whilst it is understandable that people who have been convicted of offences should have their DNA kept (although there’s a difference between keeping the DNA of a murderer and keeping the DNA of somebody who dropped an apple core), people who have not been proven guilty should expect to have their samples deleted if they are not charged or if they are cleared, or if their DNA was taken purely for elimination purposes at a crime scene (e.g. somebody who works at a place where a crime has been committed).

The staggering thing about the figure of 48,000 is that this is the equivalent of the electorate of four local authority Wards in Manchester.  In local terms, it means that the equivalent of the population of Gorton North, Gorton South, Longsight and Levenshulme are on the DNA database without having been convicted of any crime!

This is criminalisation of the general public.    GMP needs to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent with their DNA database.

A reminder that the Donkey Sanctuary is having a fun day on Saturday 15th August.  All welcome.

I saw my first Gorton 100 bus advert this weekend.  I was behind a 201 and noticed that it was carrying an advert “Celebrating 100 years of Gorton in Manchester,” sponsored by Stagecoach.

It was good to see and it’s nice how many organisations have happily come on board with the 100 celebrations.

There was a lovely meeting of the Thomas Regan Court Tenants today.  There was a useful talk from Eastlands about the work of their section to help ensure that tenants avoid financial problems.

Then they let me know that they’d filled in a sponsor form for my Great Manchester Run and they’ve added £80 to my total for Cancer Research.  That’s just really wonderful.  Thank you all.

A reminder that there’s an Advice Session at “Belle Vue House” tomorrow, 11 - 12.  All welcome.

Last night saw the “graduation” of another of the East Manchester Teams.  This is a 12-week course which is run by the Prince’s Trust and Greater Manchester Fire Brigade.  They take up  to a dozen or so young people, often young adults with no qualifications who for a variety of reasons might not have done well at school and who are out of work and at a loose end.  The course is a challenging one, focusing on teamwork (an essential part of the Fire Brigade) and involves a whole range of activities including teambuilding exercises, community work, works experience, behaviour management and study.  At the end, they each have to give a speech in front of a room full of strangers and their families (and I know how hard that is to do) on who they are, what they got out of the course and what they want to do next.

The course isn’t easy, some do drop out, but I am always impressed at the abilities shown by those who complete it.  Most are now heading either into work or study and crucially, several now have earned NVQ certificates in literacy and numeracy, which for one reason or another eluded them at school.  It is far from easy to achieve that in 12 weeks.  I find it great to see young people who might have been directionless in the past finding a focus and purpose in their lives and when I’ve encountered people who’ve been on previous courses, they’re still benefitting from the experience.

Well done to the Team and well done to the Fire Brigade and the Prince’s Trust.

It’s a great relief that one of the worst loan sharks operating in the area has been given 5 years in prison.  That case showed exactly why loan sharks are so dangerous.  With no legal enforcement of debts available, the loan sharks rarely hesitate to resort to violence and only they can decide if and when the debt is paid off.  It’s shocking that another case on the same day in the North East, where a £500 debt somehow resulted in “repayments” of over £88,000 only led to a suspended sentence.

Borrowing money off a loan shark can be a life sentence of never-ending escalating debt.  If others appear to fill the gap, please let us know at once.

However, there are also other lending agencies which are legal, but operate on the margins of legality.  They’re another kind of shark.  With bank base rates at less than 1%, it’s harsh enough that the banks are charging up to 10% for credit, bordering extortionate that credit cards can charge up to 30%, so these companies which are charging far more than this (legally!) represent the worst possible way of obtaining credit.

No matter how desperately the loan is needed, always check the interest rates being charged.  Always get a quote in writing and when in doubt ask for impartial advice as to whether it’s a good deal.

One of the big questions about the proposed database for ID cards is the security of the information held.  The weakest links will always be the people who are allowed to access it - which matters a lot for the ID database given the numbers of public and private organisations who are supposed to be using it “for efficiency.”  Whether for reasons of curiosity, financial gain or criminal intent, the security of this database is down to the integrity of every person with access.

Even without ID cards, the core database is already running.  It seems that already, 9 people have been sacked for accessing this for reasons other than professional.  Checking out a new girlfriend is sinister (and equally sinister is the possibility of putting false information onto it), but others were checking out celebrities, or their friends and neighbours.

When we think about how careful we’ve had to learn to be about our personal details, it gives no comfort to know that already thousands of people have  access to  full names, dates, of birth National Insurance numbers and everything else required to commit identity fraud.

As the Council is legally obliged to consult on whether we want an elected Mayor, it’s worth asking what we’d gain (or lose).

 Firstly, we have a Mayor, or rather in Manchester,  a Lord Mayor.  This job is strictly non-party political during a year of office.  The Lord Mayors all work very hard, meeting the community, representing our City.  Many Lord Mayors average 2 or 3 formal events per day over their year of office.  Clearly an elected Mayor wouldn’t have time to do that and run the City, but losing the Lord Mayor as Manchester’s public face would be a serious change and many community groups would miss the Lord Mayor.

The fact is, there isn’t a great clamour asking for the Council’s structures to be changed.  Most people don’t particularly mind what committees Councillors have, as long as the services are delivered.

What isn’t on offer is a change which could make sense - a Mayor for Greater Manchester, able to speak for the conurbation, but that’s not on offer either.

So we are left with the Council obliged in law to spend public money consulting on a change which most people in the City haven’t asked for and which would put power into the hands of one person instead of a group of people.  Maybe it would be better if the Government started to return some decision making to local people rather than micro-managing Councils and telling us which committees we are allowed to have.

Aldi will soon be opening in the former Summerfield building.  They have applied for their licence to sell wine and spirits (like all supermarkets).  So hopefully, Aldi will shortly be ensuring that local residents have a choice of supermarkets.

This afternoon, Reclaim Gorton reported back to the community.  This has been a great project, with local young people being mentored through a wide range of tasks and learning experiences.  They were in three teams and each reported back on their allotted tasks.  One task was to improve the Market, another to cut shoplifting from Tesco and a third on cutting crime.

 All three groups presented their ideas.  Each group offered some really innovative ideas which I hope will be adopted.  It was very impressive indeed.

It was a good session at Gorton Market today, with the local Police, chatting to local people about issues.  While we were there, a group from the RECLAIM Project were going around the Market.  They have a task to come up with ways of improving the Market.  I am really looking forwards to what they come up with.